Humidity control devices have been known for many years. Perhaps one of the earliest humidity control devices was simply a pan of water setting on a stove or heater. The pan was repeatedly re-filled with water as the heat from the stove or heater evaporated the water. The water vapor raised the humidity in an environment of low moisture.
It is well recognized that during cold weather, particularly in the Northern climes, the indoor moisture content may often be very low. This low humidity causes damage. For example, the drying out of wood pieces that have been glued together often results in the wooden pieces coming apart at glued joints. In other words, wooden furniture with pieces glued together become loose and eventually may entirely separate. Legs may fall off chairs or legs may become disassociated from a table.
Over the years, sophistication has developed in humidity control devices. Homes today often include a humidifier that is associated with the central furnace or heating system. Water is automatically fed into the humidifier. The water is exposed to warm moving air which picks up the moisture, carrying the water vapor throughout the home. Electronic controlled humidity regulators are very effective, but expensive and not very portable. Desiccants have been used to completely or almost completely remove all the humidity in the air. Desiccants typically leave the humidity at or quite near zero percent.
In other instances environments may contain an excess amount of water vapor. Such a condition is typically confronted in the below ground level portion of the house, typically referred to as a basement. If the basement is located in a soil environment that contains high moisture, the moisture may move through the walls e.g. concrete, of the basement raising the moisture content in the basement air to an unacceptably high level.
Devices have been designed to lower the moisture content, such devices are commonly referred to as dehumidifiers. These devices often work on a principle of refrigeration. The devices include a coil (tubular coil) through which a compressible fluid is passed. When the fluid is permitted to expand, the fluid rapidly lowers the temperature of the tubing. As moist air is passed over the tubing, condensation takes place on the tubing forming water which drops down into a removable pan. Periodically the pan is removed and emptied. All too often, the dehumidifier is forgotten, the pan overflows onto the floor and the water then evaporates, again raising the humidity.
Humidifying devices and dehumidifying devices of the type just described are generally not suitable for use in an instrument case containing a violin. The described humidifying devices and dehumidifying devices take up a substantial amount of space and simply will not fit within a violin case. Attempts have been made to design small devices that fit within a violin case.
Humidifiers today are available from musical instruments supply houses such as International Violin Company, Ltd. of Baltimore, Md. Such devices typically include a small bottle with a fine rubber tube extending out of the bottle. When the bottle is filled with water, water will run through the fine tube to the open end of the tube. Surface tension permits the flow of the water to the open end of the tube, but does not permit the water to flow through the open end of the tube. Another type includes a flexible polymeric tube with a plurality of openings. This tube contains media that holds water, e.g. sponge-like. The water evaporates out through the openings. Humidifiers of this type are placed within the violin case and tend to elevate the moisture in the air contained within the case.
While such devices are commonly found today, these devices have inherent problems. For example, the bottle may come open and release the water in the violin case. The water may wet the wood of the violin adversely affecting the finish as well as causing a release of adjacent glued surfaces.
One is confronted with two alternatives. One may leave the case without a humidifying device and risk the instrument drying out to such an extent that the glued surfaces separate. Alternatively, one may place a prior art humidifier device, of the type described, in the case with the risk the device leaks and a larger than desired amount of water may escape from the humidifier, wet the adjacent wood surface and/or glued surfaces, resulting in damage. The wood surface may warp or have varnish separation.
The glued surfaces may separate and the belly or the back may separate from the remainder of the instrument. The financial risk in many instances is substantial. The value of such instruments may run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Damage to the instrument may reduce its value very substantially. The present invention over comes the inherent problems of prior humidity control devices.